Citizens Financial Group opens record number of new accounts

Citizens Bank and Charter One customers respond to helpful banking solutions, exceptional customer service and new retail offers

Providence, R.I. (October 14, 2009) – Citizens Financial Group, Inc. today announced it set a company record for new checking accounts opened by Citizens Bank and Charter One customers during a one-week period. From October 3 through October 9, 2009, Citizens opened tens-of-thousands of new checking accounts throughout its 12-state retail footprint, surpassing its previous one-week record in 2007 by nearly 200 percent.

“We are committed to simplifying our customers’ busy lives by making banking easier,” said Vice Chairman Martin Bischoff, who heads Consumer and Business Banking at Citizens Financial Group. “Our recent offers have enabled us to attract tens-of-thousands of new Citizens Bank and Charter One customers. As part of our focus on exceptional service, we look forward to providing our customers helpful banking solutions to achieve their financial goals.”

Last week, Citizens began offering new customers up to $220 for opening a checking account. Through the offer, which ends November 13, 2009, customers earn: $50 for enrolling in direct deposit; $25 for making five online bill payments; $25 for making five debit or credit card transactions and up to $120 a year with Green$ense, which rewards customers for helping the environment by reducing paper-based transactions.

Launched last October, Green$ense rewards customers $0.10 for each electronic payment they make, up to $10 per month and $120 per year. Unlike other incentive programs, Green$ense deposits cash directly into a customer’s checking account on a monthly basis, providing greater savings and spending flexibility. And, rather than limiting cash payouts to debit card transactions, customers enrolled in Green$ense earn money for debit card purchases (signature and PIN), online bill payments and recurring payments, making it the most robust program of its kind in the industry.

In addition to Green$ense, Citizens has created other helpful solutions for customers. HomeBuyer Savings℠ and CollegeSaver℠ are two new innovative products that put an extra $1,000 in the pockets of Citizens Bank and Charter One customers who are saving for two significant life events – purchasing homes and funding their children’s college education. Since launching the products in April 2009, Citizens is opening about 1,000 Homebuyer Savings and CollegeSaver accounts every week.

With HomeBuyer Savings, customers receive the $1,000 towards their new home when they save a minimum of $100 per month for 36 months and finance their home with Citizens Bank or Charter One. At the end of three years, customers can use their accumulated savings towards a down payment with the additional $1,000 applied against their closing costs.

CollegeSaver enables customers who save a minimum of $25 per month until their child is 18 to earn a $1,000 bonus plus interest for opening an account by their child’s sixth birthday. Customers receive the $1,000 bonus plus all the accrued interest when the child turns 18.

In addition to Citizens’ helpful products, it offers customers free Fit Checkups, one-on-one consultations with bankers who can help them select the products and services that best fit their borrowing and savings needs. Citizens has provided nearly 2 million Fit Checkups since it began offering them in February of 2008.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is a $153 billion commercial bank holding company. It is headquartered in Providence, R.I., and, through its subsidiaries, has 1,480 branches, approximately 3,600 ATMs and approximately 23,000 employees. Its two bank subsidiaries are RBS Citizens, N.A. and Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania. They operate a 12-state branch network under the Citizens Bank brand in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, and the Charter One brand in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. CFG has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. It is one of the 10 largest commercial banking companies in the United States ranked by assets as of June 30, 2009. CFG is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).